The Best Medicine
by Overworkedunderwhelmed
Summary: Daisy gets her health clearance after her return to Rag-Tag base, and finds the best medicine to help her to continue to move forward. Post 3x20.


Daisy pressed her head back against the bed, gripping the hand rails with force. Shifting her focus to the pressure and pain was a necessary evil.

Jemma had explained-at length-how Hive's influence worked on Inhumans, flooding the brain's pleasure centers until there was no choice but for her mind to succumb to the Hive's dark intentions. She had prescribed a medication mimicking the pleasant sensations so she could more slowly wean herself off instead of trying to go cold turkey from the sensation.

To her, that was an unacceptable option. Andrew's powers had removed the parasite, removed all of the pleasant rush that had blunted her will. However, her memories were intact. The dark circles beneath her eyes were only just starting to fade, but the guilt coiled dark claws throughout her gut.

Lincoln had fallen asleep at her bedside, clearly exhausted. Jemma remained on hand, but at a careful distance monitoring levels and pushing fluids to help bolster her strength. Coulson had met Jemma's eyes but not hers when he stopped past earlier. Mack had hobbled past the observation windows on more than one occasion. May had not been past while she was awake, but she must have been grieving for Andrew. Fitz, who she forced to relive the pain and memories, watched from afar, clearly worried for Jemma, but did not quite meet her eyes. She owed them all, far more than she would ever be able to repay.

The dark circles beneath her eyes were only just starting to fade, but the tendrils of guilt coiled dark claws throughout her gut. Setting her jaw, she swiped at the tears that had begun to well. She had to get better, too get stronger for all of them. Hive was still out there, and she had been inside his head almost as much as he had been in hers.

Jemma had clearly noticed her distress, pushing a tablet in her direction from the edge of the bed. "Try to focus on getting better."

Furrowing her brow, Daisy winced. "Aren't you afraid?"

Crossing her arms over her chest, Jemma tilted her head in consideration. "What more could Hive have you do that it didn't make you do already? I certainly recognized Ward's sticky fingers on your interaction while you were under his sway, strategically attacking a weak point at each opportunity. I'm sure I wasn't the only one that noticed."

Frowning, Daisy nodded but could not bring herself to meet Jemma's eyes.

"What's more," Jemma pressed, "we were less certain that you could be saved. If not for Lash's powers, it would not have been possible. I've run every test I can think of and each of them has come up clear, aside from your withdrawal symptoms. So rest up, and do whatever you need to take your mind off the effects. Very soon, we will need you and your knowledge to take down Hive."

Her eyes still contrite, she allowed herself a small smile of gratitude as she accepted the tablet.

Jemma smiled, her eyes not-so subtlety darting through the glass at Fitz as he walked past the medical lab for what must have been the third time in the last hour. "I'm going to go give Coulson a status update. I'll check in on you again in a half an hour, if that's alright?"

Daisy felt the tug of guilt as she realized Fitz must have been checking in on Jemma to ensure she was safe. "Go ahead. I'm all set here."

Fitz gave Daisy a small smile through the glass before his own gazed focused entirely on Jemma. He fell in lockstep beside her as they moved back towards Coulson's office.

Blinking, Daisy watched until they were out of sight. Was it her imagination or was Fitz hovering far closer to Jemma than she remembered him doing lately? Jemma certainly hadn't moved away at all. "Huh…"

Lincoln had started stirring in his chair. She bit her lip to keep quiet, wanting him to have as much rest as possible. It would be nice to spend a few quiet hours alone together without either of them under the influence and before they both were inevitably drafted into offensive mode.

She settled the tablet on her lap, bringing up the browser needing to catch up on the news and the world outside of Hive's narrow interests. Typing an old favorite news site into the address bar, she instead turned up a recommendation for a lingerie site. Her eyes widened. Was this Jemma's personal tablet? When the advertising bar then started suggesting a myriad of prophylactics, Daisy struggled to stifle a very loud snort.

This was far better news than anything she could have hoped for. She settled back against the bed with a smile and waited for Jemma to return. They clearly had an awful lot to catch up on.

Besides, Jemma definitely needed a solid reminder on clearing her history.

Notes:

Thanks as always to AGL03 for the encouragement and second set of eyes.


End file.
